Opinion

Winners Abigail Spanberger - the former congresswoman ran a virtually mistake free campaign. Smart, disciplined, and organized Spanberger ran up the margin of victory through...

In a dramatic display of principle and protest, dozens of journalists covering the U.S. Department of Defense relinquished their Pentagon press credentials on October 15, rather than comply with newly imposed restrictions on how they may report from within the Defense Department The Pentagon Press Association (PPA), representing more than 100 news organizations, has strongly condemned the new rules and called the day’s events “a dark day for press freedom.”

A vote to build the George Snyder Trail (GST) was pushed through last June despite significant community and Council opposition.  Whatever your position on the project, you may be interested to learn that the June vote was based on misinformation. Council had been told by the acting city manager and his staff, in no uncertain terms, that the City would have to pay back $3.7 million if the project was canceled. This is simply not true. 

Public Hearing on Willard Sherwood Sept 30th.   City of Fairfax needs to live within its means.  The Willard Sherwood will cause 20 years of big debt! This single project will add at least $8.1M to our operating budget over the next two decades. Each penny on the tax rate generates about $835,000 – this is a 9.7-cent increase for the Willard Sherwood.  Our portion for the base building alone is right around $52M, plus an additional $3M for underground parking for a grand total of: $54,930,000.  There is also an additional $4M Performing Arts Option.

I disagree that there is an effort to stop the construction of the GST. I have been attending and speaking out at city council meetings regularly since 2023, and have met no one who is against implementing some bike trail connectivity between Route 123 and Fair Woods Pkwy, and east to connect with Draper Dr. at Fairfax Blvd. The choice is not a bike trail or not; it’s a question of the footprint of the GST.

The rationale for building an over $21.M, 1.7-mile through-the-woods George Snyder Trail (GST) is falling apart. Initially, the purpose of the GST was to get people from Point A to Point B and support local businesses along Fairfax Boulevard. How does a through-the-woods trail away from businesses do that? How does the less expensive alternative design concept, which creates a shared-use path along Eaton Place and Fairfax Boulevard, not do that?